On this episode, we discuss our October 2023 book club pick, Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang, a story about a piano prodigy conservatory dropout who takes a job at the high-end wellness company Holistik and gets drawn into the unsettling world of beauty for rich people, and what they’re willing to pay to attain it. Part satire, part dystopian horror, with a helping of body horror and child of immigrant guilt, a perfect read for spooky month!
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On this episode, we sit down with bestselling author Olivie Blake to chat about the revised release of her first self-published novel, Masters of Death, a genre-bending contemporary fantasy about an aswang real estate agent and the godson of death just trying to get by in the modern world as anomalous beings. We chat with Olivie about not only her own journey as an author, but the journey of her first self-published novel as its re-emerges as a bestseller.
Follow Olivie on instagram at @olivieblake and check out her novel, Masters of Death, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!
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One of the cool parts of being in podcasting is taking part in a community of like-minded creators, this is especially true for those of us in the Asian American podcasting space. That’s why we’re always excited to find new shows that explore the Asian American experience through new and interesting lenses.
Ten Thousand Things is a podcast from KUOW Seattle about modern-day artifacts of Asian American life, hosted by award-winning poet and museologist Shin Yu Pai. We’re excited to share their episode “Book” with Chinese American author and scholar Shawn Wong.
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Shawn Wong discovered the first Japanese American novel, No-No Boy, at a used bookstore for 50 cents, after being told by his English professors that Asian American literature didn’t exist.
He sought out the author, John Okada, and he fought to have the book republished and distributed far and wide, to unearth the legacy of Asian American writers. But all the mainstream publishers rejected it. So Shawn started to print, distribute, and sell the novel himself with friends,often from the trunk of his car.
The Asian American community turned up, ordering books by mail, telling their friends, and sending checks with handwritten letters- a testament to a generation hungry for their own stories.
Correction, 10:30 a.m., 6/6/2023: The audio version of this story misstates the name of the protagonist in No-No Boy. The character’s name is Ichiro Yamada.
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Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Taika.
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Partial funding of Ten Thousand Things was made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Hope Corps Grant, a recovery funded program of the National Endowment for the Arts, plus support from The Windrose Fund.
It’s Heritage Month once again which means the return of Books & Boba’s Asian Book Challenge, a reading challenge where we celebrate the depth and breath of books by Asian authors! This year we’re focusing our challenge on our favorite tropes and we’re asking you to recommend books (that you’ve read OR have been meaning to read) by Asian and Asian diaspora authors that either contains the trope, subverts it, or plays with it in a clever way!
As always, you can play however you like (fill out the whole grid, play bingo, etc.), just remember to tag us (@booksandboba) and the hashtag (#asianbookchallenge) so we can see all your wonderful picks!
Download the templates below:
Happy APAHM!
Happy Asian Heritage Month! Based on popular demand, we are hosting another Asian Books Challenge this year. For 2021, we are asking folks to share a book by an Asian or Asian diasporan author for every letter of the English alphabet. You can alphabetize by title and/or authors and fill out the board in whichever order you like.
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On this episode, we discuss our March 2021 book club pick, Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan, an Asian inspired fantasy/action/romance taking about Lei, an independent girl whos been taken from her family to serve as a “Paper Girl” in the Chinese-inspired imperial court of the demon bull king. We chat about the books themes of oppression and objectification of women, as well as Lei’s romance with fellow Paper Girl Wren.
Trigger Warning: Discussion of psychlogical and sexual abuse
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